Vehicle interior members are generally configured by entirely using a rigid plastic, or by applying a flexible member to a surface of a base member made of a rigid plastic, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2008-149896.
These vehicle interior members of the related art, however, are not desirable for reducing the vehicle weight, because the vehicle interior members consist almost entirely of a rigid plastic.
Meanwhile, unwoven fabrics, such as plastic felts, are used as vehicle interior members for obtaining an excellent texture and reducing the vehicle weight. However, since the unwoven fabrics do not have a sufficient surface stiffness, the unwoven fabrics are usually attached to the vehicle body with the following methods (1), (2) or the like.
Method (1):
Attaching a base member made of a rigid plastic on which an unwoven fabric is applied, to an applied portion of the vehicle body.
Method (2):
Preparing a flat attachment plane at an applied portion of the vehicle body, providing an unwoven fabric on the flat attachment plane, and fixing the unwoven fabric by using a fixing tool such as a clip inserted from the aesthetic surface of the product.
However, if the method (1) is employed, the vehicle weight is not sufficiently reduced due to the weight of the base member on which the unwoven fabric is applied.
Further, if the method (2) is employed, it is difficult to prepare a sufficient area of the flat attachment plane at the vehicle body, and to obtain a stiffness of the unwoven fabric in an area around the fixing tool. In addition, a head portion of the inserted clip or the like exposes to the interior side, thereby deteriorating the appearance of the vehicle interior. Thus, the vehicle design and the portion to which the vehicle interior member can be attached are limited.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle interior member which is capable of reducing the vehicle weight by using unwoven fabrics, without limiting the vehicle design and the portion to which the vehicle interior member can be attached.